Sinn Féin has challenged unionist paramilitaries in the North to come
clean following the discovery of a new hit list of republican murder
targets.

Party chief negotiator Martin McGuinness demanded urgent clarification
after PSNI police delivered warnings to nationalists in Derry City,
south Derry and north Antrim.

During overnight visits, they were told their details had come into
the hands of the UVF.

The warnings came after the arrest at the Wrightbus bus company in
Ballymena of a suspected UVF hitman found to be in possession of
ammunition and the personal details of a number of republicans.
Darren Richardson, a manager at Wrightbus, appeared in court on
Friday.

“It is completely unacceptable that people’s personal details have
turned up in UVF hands and that numerous people are now frightened and
disturbed by these revelations,” Mr McGuinness said.

“Given the fact that the UVF is the unionist paramilitary gang linked
to these threats then it is now over to that organisation and the
Progressive Unionist Party [which politically represents the UVF] to
make urgent statements explaining this turn of events and making it
clear what threats exist or don’t exist.”

Local Sinn Féin representative Daithi McKay said it was “unacceptable”
that unionist paramilitaries continue to target republicans.

“None of the unionist paramilitaries have yet to engage in any
constructive fashion with the IICD. All are still engaged in
widespread criminality including drug dealing and extortion. All of
this needs to end and needs to end now.”

Mr McKay also said there had been many cases in this area in the past
where unionist paramilitaries had only been given a judicial ‘slap on
the wrists’ for possessing ammunition and firearms.

“There has to be much tougher sentencing for those involved in this if
loyalists are to be deterred from this sort of activity in the
future,” he said

“The time of loyalists ‘being handled with kid gloves’ must now come
to an end and all parties, including the Irish Government, must use
their influence to tackle inequality and sectarianism in North
Antrim.”

McKay added that his party had also recently challenged the Dublin
government to exert pressure on Wrightbus over the
under-representation of Catholics in the workplace.

The major northern bus builder last week won a multi million pound
order from the Irish State bus company, Bus Eireann.

“Given these latest revelations it is quite clear why Wrightbus is a
‘cold house’ for many from the nationalist community and the Irish
Government should call an emergency meeting with the company to
address this problem once and for all.”

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